*A Houston-area police officer who fatally shot a Black woman with mental illness is back on the job on the same day it was reported that the 45-year-old grandmother of three was laid to rest following a funeral that was eulogized by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
As previously reported, Baytown police Officer Juan Delacruz fatally shot Pamela Turner on May 13 after she hit him with his Taser in a struggle during an attempted arrest, that was caught on camera.
Delacruz was on administrative leave for only one week before returning to work Monday, according to a department spokesman. He’ll be on administrative duty during the investigation into Turner’s shooting.
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Pamela Turner memorial service held with Rev. Sharpton delivering eulogyhttps://t.co/SXyy9oHeHw
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) May 23, 2019
Baytown, Texas police described Turner as the aggressor on that fatal night in the Brixton Apartments complex parking lot.
“During the course of the attempted arrest, the female began struggling with the officer, which forced the officer to deploy his Taser,” Baytown Police Department Lt. Steve Dorris said. “That deployment was not effective, and the female was able to get the officer’s Taser away from him. (She) actually tased the officer, which forced the officer to draw his duty weapon and fire multiple rounds at the suspect.”
Funeral services for Turner were held Thursday at Lilly Grove Baptist Church in Houston.
“I want Baytown, Texas, to know this is not something you’re going to brush under the rug and send the policeman back to work,” Sharpton said during a eulogy. “If he’s going back to work, we’re going back to work too to get justice for Pamela Turner.”
This is Pamela Turner…The grandmother who was racially executed by race soldiers in Texas. The white media keeps deliberately circulating her mugshot around as a way dehumanize her and justify her racially motivated extermination. She is one of many victims of this race war ✊? pic.twitter.com/1TY44nt42T
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) May 15, 2019
Turner family lawyer, civil rights activist Ben Crump, has announced the findings on an independent autopsy performed on Turner.
“Of the three gunshot wounds indicated in the report, two caused lethal injury – those to the chest and abdomen,” Crump said in a press release before adding, “an additional gunshot wound to Turner’s cheek, though not lethal, is what the family has found most devastating.”
“She was a lady who had mental health issues. What she needed was a helping hand from the police officer. Instead she got five bullets,” he added.
